What is Bitcoin Today?

Thank you for spending your valuable time reading my article about Bitcoins. This is what I have found about Bitcoin so far…

Bitcoin’s main characteristic, and thing that makes it totally different to conventional money, is the fact that it is decentralized. No institute controls the bitcoin network. This places many people at ease; since it implies that a big bank cannot control their money. Bitcoin is an electronic payment system according to mathematical proof. This plan was to make a currency free of all central power, transferable electronically, generally quickly, with very cheap transaction charges. This currency isn’t actually printed in the shadows by a central bank, unaccountable to the people, and having a unique principle. The banks can easily produce more cash to cover federal debt, hence decreasing the value of their currency. Bitcoins are kept in “digital wallet,” which is available possibly in the cloud even on a user’s computer. Digital wallet is a digital account that enables users to receive or send bitcoins, buy goods and save their money. Compared to bank accounts, bitcoin are not insured by the FDIC.

Rather, bitcoin is made digitally, by a society of people that one could join. Bitcoins are ‘mined’, utilizing computing power in a circulated network.

This network also processes transactions created with the digital currency, appropriately making bitcoin a payment network. All over the world, people are applying software programs that apply a mathematical formula to produce bitcoins. The mathematical formula is absolutely free, so anyone can use it.

The software is open source, which means that anyone can check it out to ensure that it does whatever it is expected to. You can start developing for Bitcoin today if you have the desire.

1. It is decentralized

The bitcoin system is not operated by one central agency. All machines that mine bitcoin and process transactions comprise part of the network, and the devices interrelate. Meaning that, in principle, one main authority cannot fiddle with monetary policy or induce a meltdown – or just choose to take people’s bitcoins from them, like the Central European Bank chose to do in Cyprus in early 2013. And if a few section of the network is offline somehow, the money continues on flowing.

2. It is handy to create

Standard banks make you go through hoops just to open an account. Creating merchant accounts for payment is also a Kafkaesque job, beset by paperwork. However, you can create a bitcoin address in mere seconds, no queries asked, and without fees payable.

3. It is (semi) anonymous

Customers may hold various bitcoin addresses, so they are not partnered with names, addresses, or some other personal information.

4. It is totally transparent

Bitcoin keeps details of all transactions that ever took place in a general ledger named the blockchain. The blockchain reveals all. If you own a freely used bitcoin address, anybody can tell the number of bitcoins kept at that address. They just do not realize that it is yours.

There are means that people takes to make their tasks more opaque on the Bitcoin network, like not making use of the same bitcoin addresses constantly, and not sending many bitcoin to one address.

5. It’s inexpensive

Transaction charges are minuscule when you use Bitcoin. Your bank can charge a fee of $10 or more for foreign transfers. Bitcoin charges pennies.

6. It is fast

You can send out money any place and it arrives a few minutes later, once the bitcoin network processes the payment it is non-repudiable. When your bitcoins are sent, there is no getting them back, except if the receiver sends them back you.

Bitcoin popularity has grown massively in the past year and it looks like Bitcoin will only grow more. Wait until you read about some more of the details about Bitcoin, how it’s being used and what to expect in the future!

Jeanie Freshie is has a background in writing, business, technology and marketing. She is enthusiastically covering the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency space providing insight and views from the perspective of the “everyday person”.

NewsBTC is one of the largest online resources for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency news. Canada is a World renowned development hub for Bitcoin and FinTech advancements so extending NewsBTC specifically into Canada was a logical step. Having previously been involved in the earlier days of Bitcoin publishing significantly helped with my re-entry into the mix and it is thrilling to be a part of the NewsBTC family in representing Canadian FinTech.